HMS Cornwall was a heavy cruiser. In late March 1942 reports were received of an impending attack on Ceylon by the Japanese resulting in HMS Cornwall and her sister ship HMS Dorsetshire being sent to Colombo. On the 4th April the Japanese carrier fleet was sighted and the two ships left Colombo. At midday on the 5th April, the two cruisers were sighted in the Bay of Bengal by a Japanese spotter plane from the Japanese cruiser Tone. The two vessels came under heavy and sustained attack by dive bombers from the carriers Akagi, Soryu and Hiryu. Within minutes HMS Cornwall was disabled with damage to her boiler and engine rooms and with little defence she sank in 12 minutes with the loss of 190 men either killed or missing presumed killed. HMS Dorsetshire sank 6 minutes later. Survivors from both ships were rescued by HMS Enterprise, HMS Paladin and HMS Panther on the following day.

Arthur Michael Durkin has no known grave, the photograph available shows his name on Chatham Naval Memorial.